Unemployment rate at lowest mark of 2016

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For the fifth straight month, Scurry County’s unemployment rate dropped, as did the number of people in the local workforce.
According to the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC), Scurry County’s November unemployment rate was 4.8 percent, which is the lowest of the year. The county had 7,361 people in the workforce and 354 were classified as unemployed.
In October, when the unemployment rate was 5.1 percent, the county had 7,418 people in the workforce and 375 were unemployed.
In November 2015, the unemployment rate was 4.2 percent with 8,477 people in the workforce and 359 were unemployed.
Kent County had the lowest unemployment rate in the region at 2.7 percent, followed by Borden County at 2.8 percent. Mitchell County had the highest rate at 6.6 percent.
Other county totals were Coke, 3.6 percent; Howard, 3.6 percent; Andrews, 4.1 percent; Fisher, 4.1 percent; Nolan, 4.4 percent; and Dawson, 4.5 percent.
Texas added an estimated 210,800 seasonally adjusted jobs over the past year with the addition of 20,900 non-farm jobs in November. The state has added jobs in 19 of the past 20 months.
Texas’ seasonally adjusted unemployment rate decreased to 4.6 percent in November, down from 4.7 percent in October.
“I am encouraged by our state’s continued job growth, with Texas employers adding jobs in nine of 11 industries over the past year,” said TWC Chairman Andres Alcantar. “TWC will continue to focus on the workforce needs of our diverse industries and build education and training partnerships that support jobs created by Texas employers.”
The Amarillo, Lubbock and Austin-Round Rock Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSA) recorded the month’s lowest unemployment rate among Texas MSAs with a non-seasonally adjusted rate of 3 percent, followed by the College Station-Bryan MSA with a rate of 3.2 for November.